#SUSI2017

[umasspakleaders]

My 27 days at the University of Massachusetts have truly been the best piece of my year up until this point. The time passed by amazingly quickly since I was continually taking in something new: a remote culture, an alternate appraisal framework, an alternate style of educating, diverse nourishment and obviously new individuals. After my own understanding, I now trust that exchange students can help change a portion of the presumptions and assumptions in their social orders since individuals will probably acknowledge the change from inside their general public as opposed to all things considered. That is the reason I firmly trust that an exchange experience is a standout amongst the most capable approaches to advance individuals and help end those hundreds of years’ long clashes that remove our concentration from the genuine issues. Each time I think about my instructors, my mentors, my host family or kindred volunteers, i cannot help but get emotional. They did as such much for me. My host family gave me a place in their souls and heart. My guides (Juulii, Claudia, Brooke, Jessy and josh) were dependably there for me at whatever point I required them, continually ensuring that I was altering and making the most of my stay in UMass. My instructors (Sam and Tom) have volunteered to help me in the academics and took my circumstance in thought at whatever point I didn’t comprehend something that was normal learning to alternate understudies. The volunteers I worked with attempted to make my experience enjoyable and showed me all I had to know. I have the delight of meeting Solomon Goldstein-Rose youngest individual from the house. It was stunning and I felt fortunate to be there. Everyone is qualified for have reasonable instruction and the privilege to have training must be ensured. The most extraordinary and worth adapting part was the point at which I battled for President Donald Trump as a piece of our scholarly introduction. This was my first experience taking an interest in this sort of political movement. I was energized as an academic presentation; it advanced my point of view and my comprehension about the U.S. government framework, instruction framework. Being a huge number of miles from home was not generally simple. Like everything in life, my experience had its ups yet additionally its downs. The harsh circumstances helped me grow up and move far from my usual range of familiarity to pick up development and freedom. I know I am one of the fortunate few to live abroad for a month thus however I likewise realize that excessively few individuals think about my story and those of the a huge number of other youngsters who are a piece of exchange programs each year. I believe I have seen America’s actual face and heart. I know more than what the news let me know and I helped other people take in more about my way of life. SUSI journey end up at the most beautiful and memorable moment of my life when I got my certificate on successfully completion of the program. The goal was achieved and the main purpose for to be there in United States of America for 40 days was completed. I would like to congratulate my fellows on their successful completion of the exchange program. In the end, I would like to Thanks every person who were the part of this exchange program in any way, for making my US journey more wonderful and unforgettable.

Bushra Munir.

[essarind-blog1]

Academic Sessions

The Academic Sessions of SUSI 2017 have been engaging from day one. Right when we started with Ms. Sam Camera with Cultural Relativism and Religion afterwards followed by Mr. Thomas Fricke’s of US History and then US Constitution followed by Mr. Ravzan SIbi’s class on Leadership followed by Mr. Michael Hannahan’s on Public Policy and then classes of Mr. Obed Pasha on Policy Implementation and Evaluation. 

As good as these all were, I say this with a heavy heart, there is always a favorite. For me it was Mr. Macwillaim’s class.on a Presidential Campaign Simulation. Right from the time Mr. Mike gave us that case study on ASARCO Smelter and we discussed in class presenting our views, where he suggested we should be on President Trump’s Team for Campaign Simulation Run (which coincidentally we already were) it made me excited for the campaign.

To say we worked hard for the Campaign would be an understatement. Throughout the campaign simulation runs we were the last group to present anything which made the anticipations unbearable. Coming in last to present and sweeping away the winners trophy (an oval office mug in this case) was an ecstatic moment. Getting to this point required a lot of effort and while my teammates were at different moments acknowledged for their efforts {like Farheen winning the best speaker award and I getting special mentions at two different points by Mr. Macwilliams (thanks again sir!)} unfortunately a lot of hard work could not be appreciated in that small moment without which it all could not have been possible. 

When Mr. Macwilliams called out for the leader to come forward and accept the trophy on behalf of their team I called out for mentor (Team Julie FTW!) I later learned the leader was someone from within the participants. I was pleasantly surprised by my teammates calling me to go forward to receive this award on behalf of the team. It was a moment of great honor and pride for me. 

Even though it was the hardwork and dedication of Salman making such a phenomenal video that got us there. It was Ammarah working tediously to make the powerpoint presentation and giving a blasting speech during the debates. It was Mohsin with his clever ideas of thinking out of the box to learn from others and improve ourselves. It was Sundal’s dedication of working against all odds as a student of Medicine to overcome that barrier and delve into American Politics to give a stellar debate performance. It was Farheen’s dedication not only with the debate speech but also with the aesthetics of our campaign. I must also give special mentions to American students with us that helped us beyond their parts to push us towards victory, Lisa Servaes and Leah Eve-cooles it would not have been possible without your constant guidance and coaching about American Politics, your help with Campaign decorations and your support in the classroom during our presentations. You guys all made it possible.

At the end I would just like to thank all of my teammates for being so unimaginably awesome and for the Academic Directors Ms. Sam and Mr. Tom for putting up such eventful classes together which have made the Academic Sessions so engaging and enlightening.

Hassan Ali

[morethangames]

Few photos of our MIAS New Mexico Road Trip, just to get you in the mood (you can definitely call it a teaser) 

[umasspakleaders]

SUSI 2017 The door to explore American Culture with Academic touch

SUSI 2017 The door to explore American Culture with Academic touch So it's all started with the congratulation email by US Consulate. Whoof, even to imagine seeing a new culture and diverse environment for academic purpose was so soothing. Cutting off all the excitement since then to the date, let's stepped into the largest airport of world JFK Airport, New York. We welcomed by our mentors in such a way that I surprisingly realized that the culture of welcoming guests have resemblacne even USA & Pakistan are far away from each other. On our opening ceremony we witnessed that how formal gatherings are different from Pakistan. The practice of expressing your thoughts by giving speeches is quite interesting right here. In Pakistan we can not even think to deliver speeches in social gatherings. The 4th July parade was one brilliant chance which I extracted fully by making a lot of new friends and telling them that we are Pakistanis a peaceful nation just like Americans, ( due to some extent). Adding more spice to the day, we had brilliant open air lunch hosted by SUSI Program's founder and enjoyed the magnificent level of controlled patriotism by singing national anthems of so many countries on the national day of America. And playing the egg game. We end up by enjoying our fullest the phenomenal fire works of USA. The cheerful faces of Americans wearing light bands, American crown, bracelets. I took admiration & decided to start something like this in Pakistan. Stay tuned for more cultural updates.

[morethangames]

MIAS 2017 - third and fourth week and falling in love with Cities

Upon our arrival from Boston, we started discussing about issues of cultural and social heterogeneity and taking NY as an example, with scholars and local activists. We had the opportunity to visit Harlem where we discussed about the struggles of the African-American community, Queens where we had the pleasure to participate in a local towns meeting and Chinatown for an inspiring walking and eating (oh the fruits!) tour. Themes of race, poverty, gender, social rights and current political situation were always present in these tours & discussions and it was clear that probably all of us were trying to identify commonalities or differences with the situation in our countries, or in my case with the current European situation.  

The importance of creating successful communities and the need to identify and respect different narratives was paramount in our morning sessions and in my afternoon walks in NY. As you would probably imagine, from day one I have been walking up and down NY in an attempt to grasp the morning sessions’ input and the City never failed to deliver. Discussions with vendors, passers by, artists, curators, taxi drivers, new and old friends, added different levels of narrative and meaning, allowing me to demystify or many times to be re-enchanted with the City, its people and public and private spaces. Different layers of meaning, art and absolute randomness are a source of constant inspiration to the wanderer. It seems that my morning lectures were inspiring me to psychogeography endeavours, in the City and sometimes in me as well. In this point I should also speak about the High Line and my Favorite Theatre, but I will write a seperate post about my New Babylon Inspiration.

Take into consideration that we were living in Union Square (I love its diversity and artistic happenings) and I almost never used the subway at night, we were always walking back. The quality of these experiences could only be described by our silence. I was constantly amazed by the little surprises, the burst of creativity, the amount of human presence or absence just a few blocks away. A brief but heartfelt discussion with a ventor, the evening fog, an artist in the park, the discussions of young people on the subway were providing so much information and beauty. A feeling that I also encountered in Brooklyn after some weeks, when I had the opportunity to stay there.

I feel that I could write dozens of papers about my walking escapades in NY and I am sure that I would not be original in any way. It is extremely difficult not to fall in love with the obvious and not obvious public spaces oasis and the unstructured labyrinths of its structured grid. So I will leave you with some visual storytelling and continue in the next post with the unbelievable road trip in New Mexico.

[morethangames]

[morethangames]

MIAS 2017 - first two weeks, the beauty of diversity and the pursuit of unity

​...and here I am in NY as a visiting scholar of the Multinational Institute of American Studies Program 2017 of NYU, on the Reconciliation of American Diversity with National Unity. A diverse and intense program in the most exciting timing (& in the most exciting city).

I haven’t been able to write earlier because the past few weeks have been an exciting and overwhelming experience for me. The entire program is not only multinational but also multidisciplinary and is based around the necessity of diverse dialogue. Being part of a team of 18 scholars from allover the globe provides constant opportunities for creative dialogue and highlights the beauty of discourse and humanistic respect. So far we've had lectures and discussion on themes around the main dichotomy of american culture Federalism and Local Governance with a specific interest in the search and construction of successful communities. The timing seems perfect, our lecturers seem to be more reflective than ever, allowing further discourse and comparative opportunities. 

The best part of the experience so far is that, being with such a diverse crowd from different cultures and scientific directions, the discussions and inspirations never end. Beautiful people that in all their diversity, allow me to discover the common ground of our thoughts, needs and hopes.

And to be honest there is a specific magic in being able to discuss and argue on social, political and philosophical matters while laying flat in Central Park. 

The program has been organised around the idea of tutorials, conversations and mainly experiences and we've already travelled to Boston when we had the opportunity to learn more about this idea of community and to actually form our own small community. So I think that in the following weeks we will have pretty good examples in micro and macro regarding the beauty of diversity and the pursuit of unity. More posts, thoughts and photos will follow...

[morethangames]

The cat is out of the bag and I will be in New York City very very soon. I am extremly excited to be part of this team of international researchers and I can’t wait to pack my bag for this new academic adventure in the West.

I will definitely try to blog about it, so stay tuned!